Stone Arch Bridge set to close for repairs over the next 2 summers
MINNEAPOLIS — While Minneapolis' 3rd Avenue bridge — a major artery into downtown — is set to reopen next month, the nearby Stone Arch Bridge is set to close for repairs starting next spring.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation said the bridge's mortar needs to be repointed and its stone needs to be repaired or replaced, along with other fixes. Construction is set to start in spring 2024 and is expected to last two years. Half the bridge will be under construction next summer, and the other half the summer after that.
"It's a landmark," said Dalton Doering, a Minneapolis photographer. "It's what people from out of town come to see a lot of times."
MnDOT says the mortar and rocks beneath the roadway are getting repaired and replaced. Half the bridge will be under construction next summer. The other half will be done the summer after that. It will still be possible to walk or ride out to the midway point of the bridge.
There's also some good news related to Minneapolis bridges — the 3rd Avenue Bridge is opening again next month after about a year of delays.
"It's wider," said Amber Blanchard, MnDOT's major projects manager. "It accommodates more room for bikes and pedestrians on the entire structure, plus it got a makeover, if you will, for the construction that was taking place."
Doering's glad to have it back.
"You won't have to go around either side of the city the way you kind of had to do," he said.
The 3rd Avenue Bridge will be the detour route for Stone Arch, which is still going to be open during the winter months.
MnDOT says the Stone Arch repairs will cost $26 million.
There will be a celebration on Oct. 28 for the re-opening of the 3rd Avenue Bridge.
The last time the Stone Arch Bridge went under repair was back in the middle of the 1990s.